Barefeet in the gym ?

Yes I do go bare for my workouts for excersice.

Some background I have been doing workouts barefoot for about three years now. I played with it originally in a more conventional gym back when I first started doing it. I live in a rural area so we don't have super big box gyms here. I tend to train in a unconventional manner so at one point I left that gym. I moved on to a more warehouse type gym with a open floor plan, and very few rules. I took on the barefoot workouts full force when I went to this gym. It was exciting ! I did trade work so I did not have to pay anything to use the gym, and had a key to use any time I desired.

More recently I have decided to not use that warehouse gym. I have been phasing myself away from it over the last 12 months. I really prefer to be outside for excersice. So more recently I have acquired my own equipment. I find gyms to be inconvenient, dirty, not enough air circulation, etc. I like to be out in the elements.

So what equipment do you own Chris ? Well currently I have the following -
barbell and 300 lbs worth of weight
squat stands
empty keg can
wood chopping block(for classic box jumping)
leverage clubs(home made)
iron woody bands variety pack
parallel bars(home made)
jump rope
tire attached to rope that I put weights on top. It gets dragged.....
My home made farmer walk handles are still at the warehouse gym.

For each toy you have a large variety of movements choices. The sky is the limit really. I hope to install a pull up bar soon, get some bumper plates possibly, a few kettle bells. Why not dumbbells ? Well I can do a assortment of stuff with the barbell even single armed.

I have these toys at home, and I always use them outside. It is so much more enjoyable ! I am quite knowledgeable of moving the body. I tend to be self motivated, and know lots of movements with free weights. I go heavy, but I also like to do drills at more mild weight doing numerous rounds. This is my version of cardio. I don't use the boring cardio machines. I do it in a much more creative manner. I certainly have a artistic side, and this can be seen in my workouts.

I also do other outdoor stuff like biking, hiking, backpacking. Things like this that can be barefooted, or not sometimes.

Sometimes when I travel I have no choice to wear a shoe at a gym I may visit. In this type of case I would usually just wear my vivo barefoot aqua shoe. It's comfy when I must have a shoe on.

You'll see a few pics attached

of some of the equipment in my yard......


I also love to go out to the beach. You pick just the right size/weight piece of driftwood, and you can have a fun full body workout.

I just find it very empowering to workout on my own terms, and not having to rely on some gym to get the job done. If you have the knowledge you can do a kick ass job with just basic tools !

What about the winter is a common question ? Well we mostly get rain it does get cold at times. Alaska, or cold Canadien fronts come down sometimes. I do not always have to excersice. Rest is always good as well. Though in general it is very realistic to workout outside between winter storms. So you just have to pay attention to the forecast.

I do admit I tend to be unique in this aspect. Add my silly barefeet on top of that ! Fun, fun.......

Soft Star (general) review

When I do blog I try to keep posts barefoot related. Shoes are not bare feet to me, but I feel the need to vent today on the internet. So this is my post to vent my frustrations.....

Soft Star web site

Some general info on my experience -

I actually had a chance to visit this store in person in mid July 2011. It is in a town like I visit for a event that I enjoy. It is about a 6 hour drive to that area from where I live. I was impressed on my visit. I emailed them saying I would be biking to store, and they gave me some good biking directions. Upon arrival at the store one of the owners was out front watching the children. They liked my silly trike that I arrived on.

You first enter the door, and have to walk up a bunch of steps. Lots of wood on the interior so it has a nice natural look. A bunch of kids running around inside, and they have a day care center. I think it is just for the owners children. Tesla helped me on my visit. The same person who responded to me email about coming to visit. Tesla is very adorable so that made the experience pleasant, and Tesla seemed up on all the product details. The rest of the staff seemed nice. Tricia the one owner I met seemed cool as well.

In conversation I learned that they don't really get very many walk in customers. That most of the sales are done via the internet. The main sales floor has the products they sell. They have a counter with the office happenings, and they have what looks to be a very large area of elves working away on mocs. To my eye they seemed to employee a fairly large number of elves.

My past experience -

What brought me to the store in person was failed attempts to buy mocs from them via the internet. I believe I made two purchases online before I visited the store in person. The first issue was sizing was incorrect. The second issue I was not happy with the toe area of the moc. I wanted a moc to wear at home for a chilly winter day. As each purchase did not work out they made other suggestions on how to get something that I would like, and would fit my feet. Then I sort of got to a point where I was sick of all these shipping costs. All these troubles even up to today, and they never offered any brake on shipping to attempt to keep me as a customer. I always kind of figured that was a poor decision. In less of course this is a common problem they have with customers in which case helping out on shipping costs would be expensive for them. I assume I'm not the only one that had issues like this. I decided it was time to share my story.

The final result of my in store visit -

First off since I was stubborn, and gave up on paying more shipping to find the right moc. I ended up just making my feet tough it out. So now I have no need for a moc around the house.

When I visit the store I was interested in seeing the Moc 3. I was interested in a alternative shoe that I could wear a limited amount that provided some protection. For everyday use when needed, and for biking at times on my trike. This shoe would have been fine for me to wear at work. I wanted to see if it fit my feet properly, and if I liked the looks of it in person at the store. It turned out I liked the look, and we found a size that fit my foot. The moc I felt had a athletic look, and it allowed my foot to be very flexible. Probably more flexible then any other shoe I have tried on. Normally when I would wear a shoe size 10.5 or 11. In VFF 43 or 44 back in the day when I wore those silly shoes. With the moc 3 I was a surprising size 12.

Though the downer was they would not sell me the shoes I tried on in the store. At the time they were out of stock of all the common sizes. It seems they can't hold stock very well on this shoe. For whatever reason they would not sell me the shoes I had on. Which at the time I was frustrated about cause the whole reason I went into the store was to find something that fit, and buy it at that moment. I really liked the pair I had on my feet in the store.

So they tell me I can place a order now at the store, and they would charge my credit card, or wait and order myself some other time at home. I opted to place the order while I was at the store. That way I could be at a better place in the back order line.

Well 5 weeks or so later I get the order in the mail. Dreadfully another problem exists. It is the size I ordered. However one toe box looks different then the other toe box. The left fits just dandy. The right had a extra point by the big toe, and toe next to it. So it made the shoe look too big, and it allowed a lot of folding of the material. It looked really crappy on my right foot. Basically each shoe was not symmetrical.

Obviously if I would have left the store with the shoes I liked. I would have never of had this problem. My visit was wasted in this regards in getting a product in the store. I reached my limit with this Moc 3 delivery. Now I'm back at square one sending it back. Again spending more money on additional shipping. However this time was my last mistake. As I decided on a refund, and to never use this company again. I forwarded the info on my Moc 3 problem, and below was the response I got.

I am very sorry to hear you were not satisfied with your shoes. We are happy to issue you a refund. Please know that we do appreciate your feedback. Since our shoes are made by hand there is always a chance for some slight irregularities, but our production elves have high standards for quality. We will examine your shoes when they arrive and see if it is a problem we can prevent in the future.

Again, we apologize for any inconvenience.

In closing -

Why can't they inspect each shoe before it goes out for sale ? Maybe they need a master elf to do a final inspection. I tried really, really hard to give this company a chance. Every chance I gave was a failed attempt. I have patience, and my patience was just never rewarded. So I just wanted to warn folks of my experience. Since these products are crafted by hand it comes with some unique circumstances. Combo that with your foot shape, selection of materials, selection of looks, pricing, shipping costs, etc. You are presented with many options, and variables that may have to be dealt with.

At this point I don't want anything from soft star. I just want to share my story, and close this chapter. It was a shipping money pit to USPS benefit. In the end USPS was the only winner.

Shop at your own risk !

2011 Da Vinci Days

I was spotted with barefeet in the kinetic parade. Surprise, surprise ! Corvallis, OR. One of the most fun festivals, and home of my second favorite kinetic sculpture race.

I have two sets of sandals. A 6mm cherry with the invisible shoe lacing(on right in pic). The other set is a 4mm cherry with hemp laces(on left in pic). I use the 6mm for trail running only. I use the 4mm in a limited amount of stores. The IS lacing is easier to use on trails cause I can drench it after wards with water to clean, and they dry fast. The hemp gets really tight once it gets wet.

I also give myself a little extra soling in front of toes. This allows extra slippage room when I run down super steep trails. Though the cherry does have a anti slip texture so my skin does not move on cheery much.

Floppiness is not a problem. If it is that generally means lacing is too loose.

I've also tried the 6mm trail nubby vibram, but the tread makes it a bit too thick for me. Also the top of soling does not have the anti slip effect. Skin will move around more on that material.

My tie method really is as simple as it looks. Though lacing tightness is just as important as any other tie method.

MAT (part #3)

Before I get you all worked up on a positive alternative you may not have heard of before. Please note the specialist are somewhat limited. So if you have poked around, and it interest you. The first thing you really need to do is see if a specialist is in your area.

Soon I will discuss my in office experience with MAT. Discuss how MAT thinks differently then the main stream. Why it works, etc.....

Stay tuned for more info on MAT.

Since this is a BF blog normally, and we are discussing muscle activation. For a little fun. Let's take a look at how many muscles we have in our feet, and where they are located........




To take it one step further. let's also look at the muscles in the lower leg. One thing we have to understand is these muscles are interconnected. Each muscle relies on the other muscles to activate properly. If even one muscles does not communicate properly it can effect how other muscles feel and/or function.



and the upper leg muscles.....

MAT (part #2)

I have two MAT specialist I knew where I live. These two guys got the training via Greg then brought it here to Arcata. Originally they brought the service to one of the larger gyms. That gym allowed them to offer that service as it was something new. I was a member at the gym at the time. Had spoke to David about it numerous times. One time he gave me a short free session to expose me to the ideas as I showed interest.

It was some time after that I used it for the first time. They both branched our eventually with their own business of the MAT services. So we now have in Arcata a dedicated office to the practice. It's a three person shared office. Each being a MAT specialist.

The first time I used the practice was about probably two years ago. I had pulled a muscle in my back. In fact I may have pulled the muscle maybe even twice over a course of numerous months. Usually just icing after the injury, and rest. Then start weight training slowly working back up to strengthen what I thought was the injured area.

At one point I went backpacking. That same side of back muscles were really bothering me a lot. It was more like the upper, mid trapezoid area. That shoulder blade muscle area. Numerous muscles collide in that area. I had difficulty backpacking cause the muscles in the area were just not happy. I constantly had to re-adjust my pack. Those muscles just felt really tired.

I knew something was not correct. Originally I rested, and healed. Then I decided to schedule some physical therapy sessions at the gym. To help come up with a safe weight training program to recover from injury.

Well I ended up canceling that initial appointment. Instead I scheduled my first MAT session. During my first session I was convinced this work absolutely works. The body does not lie.

In the next post I will discuss some key ideas I learned during those sessions. Ideas much opposite of what we all learned in grade school.

These MAT folks know ever single muscle in the body, and many details about each individual muscle. Many are personal trainers. I've never met anyone else who is super in tune with bio mechanics, and the muscular system.

This video below is not MAT focused, but I've posted it to illustrate how we need to look at a individuals bio mechanics. To asses what maybe causing a reported tightness, injury, pain, etc. The body is a jig saw puzzle, but with many layers. Sometimes the layered have to be peeled away to find the root of the problem to correct it. In the video all those bio mechanical issues viewed can be fixed by MAT. Along with many other mechanical issues. As our muscular system firing properly is critical in proper bio mechanics. If the communication of how the muscles fire has gone offline anywhere within the chain. It can cause numerous types of negative effects in how we feel, ans move.....

Notice in the video. What a wonderful, but complex machine we are........

Muscle activation therapy

Ever have a injury ? Not sure what is going on ? Or do you have the same injury recurring ? Stretching, massaging most likely is not correcting the root of the injury. As the tightness is not the problem area.

This is when you may want to consider muscle activation therapy if you have a specialist in your area.

I have first hand experience with this treatment. What I can tell you is your body does not lie. The process works it is that simple.

what I will say for now is MAT is not that well known to most folks. The process is also opposite of what we are taught as children. So once you see that it works you have to re learn how to care for your muscle chain, and your body in general.

I'll talk about my experiences in the days ahead.

For now check out these videos below, or the link posted above......

alternative tie method.......invisible shoe

SONJAbean did the original video here with full directions......




Then I did something a little different with finishing off the tie. I was trying to get a bit of a cleaner look. Pardon me this is my first video. As seen below......

My weekend runs.......

Hi all,

This weekend a did two runs......

The first run was my first trail run. I have explained in past that my local trails have a crushed rocked type top surface. So this makes it a challenge to walk/run on barefoot. I have been super interested in trail running, but needed to fine tune what I would wear on my feet. Wear on my feet to combat the gravelly type surface. Well I ordered a build your own invisible shoe.
My first run was two miles with the invisible shoe. I must say I had a wonderful time on that short run. I was so impressed the the invisible shoe, and just really excited on how much ground feel I had. While at the same time having the protection that I desired. I'll share my review with the shoe at a later time.
My trail running is focused in a local city park called Redwood park. One challenge I face in conditioning at this park. Is that Redwood trees grow on generally steep terrain. So the trails are generally up, or down. Some hills can be rather steep, but at the same time there is a good mixture as far as some level ground, smaller hills, larger hills, etc. To run on that property is a great workout. My calves muscles area will take some time to adapt to that. Other wise I have the leg strength generally speaking, and can handle the cardio aspect just fine.

The second run of the weekend was a beach run of three miles. The weather here has been wonderful in recent weeks. We have actually had a fair amount of sun which is unusual for a Humboldt coast winter. So it's been great to be outside so much ! However the weather pattern is about to take a winter like turn starting tomorrow. Looks like plenty of rain in the upcoming week, and high winds expected for Monday. So I took advantage of a bech run today. It was fun of course.
As the weather front is approaching off the coast it was a bit windy on the run today. Heading north was fine, but southbound trip was a head wind so that made running a bit more of a workout. My legs were only a little sore today from the forest run, but that soreness magnified on the beach run. I'm sure I'll have some sore calves in the morning.

I'm super stoked to have my running salad of beach, and trail runs ! I'd like to discuss on a future post my attitude towards running, and share how I perceive the movement.....

Below pic is me standing inside a Redwood tree at ground level. The very outer layer of redwoods in fire proof. So in the past when their have been fires the center of the tree burns, but the tree may still be standing in some cases even still alive. This is a picture of me looking straight up with the camera, and you can see day light coming in through the crack of tree at top. Got kind of a psychedelic look to it, eh.....

Christopher McDougall - Are we born to run ? (video)

For sale - VFF Treksport mens black size 43

Vibram five finger mens black size 43

Only used once on a 1 mile hike in the woods. So shoe is in new condition accept for that one use. Very minimal dirt on bottom of sole. Other then that the rest of shoes are very clean. The one use they got was with a sock on my feet.

Brand new purchase would be 100 dollars plus tax/shipping. I am asking 85.00 dollars which includes shipping. I accept pay pal only. Contact me if interested, and I will provide my pay pal address.

Please note I do not accept returns as I'm not a retailer. So you need to know this is the size you need. If they end up being the wrong size, or you find you simply do not like them. You will have to resell them on your own terms.

I will only ship within the US.

Product spec info can be found here. See below for pic of my actual shoes for sale......

Children can't be fooled, but they can be taught. Surely the adults can learn from them as well !

Those children....

First off I'll be clear I do not have children.
Going to keep today's post short, but I'll expand on it more at a later time.

Even in the store bare foot with the bottom less sandals on. I can't fool those children. The say "hey you don't have shoes on". Kind of funny I think. Or they stare at my feet as if they are thinking "he does not have shoes on". As if they are jealous, or want to expose me to their parents. It's too funny.

It just goes to show you how we train the children at such a young age. As soon as they can walk we give them shoes. What my problem is with this is they are constantly growing. Putting shoes on them during all this growth just really is not very healthy for their young feet.

If everyone with children could take a step back, and re-evaluate this situation. Can we cut the kids some slack ? Change the mind set to discuss better ways to care for feet. How about shoe free zones at home ? Could we experiment with taking the ideas outside the home ? I really feel are children deserve the freedom to grow with healthy feet, and I hope others would agree.

Starting at a young age with these ideas will also help mold the future. Mold the future of how we look at feet in society. Mold ideas to extinguish all these common misconceptions about feet. I think our feet deserve a second chance to live a free life, and not be sheltered.

Parents..... Can we give the children a chance to explore bare feet ? I really think the children deserve it, and society deserves it. May we at least explore the ideas with our children, and give it a chance ? Setting boundaries is safe, but let's give the bare feet some room to breathe. I think we all would benefit to exploring these ideas. It's not just about BF running. Let's allow the bare feet to experience even more freedom in everyday life. Shall we ? If you already incorporate these ideas then I would like to thank you for doing so.

Remember in every adult is a child. Let your inner child come out to play. Let the young, and old children mold the future of

We will discuss lots more about the children in future posts. I believe as adults we can learn a lot from the children....



Have not ran much lately. Did a 2.5 mile run BF on beach today. So much fun ! Opposite side of ocean are dunes. At one spot I ran up, and down a dune hill. Getting faster, and faster as each round progressed. I did that for about ten minutes with little rest at the end of my 2.5 mile run. I felt like a child running free in my bare feet. Guess I'm still young at heart. Let me play

.....

Hiking in nature........

So I'm exploring the idea of how I want to hike this upcoming season. In regards to my feet, and if I wear something on my feet. In my immediate area we have many opportunities for hiking. County, city, state, federal properties. What I'm finding however is many places lay small crushed rock as a top layer. It gets wet here in winter typically so I think they do this to help with drainage so the trails are not constantly drenched.

For me this crushed small rock is not that friendly to walk on bare foot. It is something that I can walk on, but it is very slow. I don't hike often enough to really condition my soles for this type of surface. If I go into the mountains this is less of a issue. As the mountain forest service trails are mostly dirt. I live on the coast, and gravel top layers on the trails seem to be the norm.

So I'm thinking it maybe good to have something for my feet to wear for hiking when needed. Currently I have a vibram five finger treksport mens in black size 43. My original pair were sent back on a warranty exchange. That took a long time. I have the new pair now. Today I went on a short hike to try the treksport again, and to scout out some trail surfaces. It turns out now that I am a more experienced bare footer I really don't like the treksports. So since I have only worn them once which was today my plan is to sell them. They are of course brand new, and I have cleaned the dirt out of soles as much as possible. When I'm ready to sell them someone will get a nice deal.

So now I need to figure out what will be my trail footwear when I want to wear something. I could use my VFF sprints. I really like those a lot, and don't wear them much. I have paper feet that I don't use too much which I like as well. My next hike will be in the paper feet to see how hiking in them is. I need to determine if they have enough sole. It is possible these will be too thin a sole. We will see. I'm not interested in the Barefoot Ted Luna sandals. As I feel he has very over priced products. Plus I hate the lace between the toes. I'm interested in the nice thin 4mm unshoes, but they have lace between toes. Right now I'm leaning toward the invisible shoe kit to build your own which would be a 4mm sole. I like this option cause the sole is 4mm, and I can customize the lace to not be between the toes. I also much prefer the top of my feet to be exposed in the sandal style, but have a little protection on bottom to hike faster. This will also allow me to not constantly have my eyes in the dirt looking at where my feet are stepping. Another problem I have with bare foot hiking constantly looking at where you are stepping. I prefer to look up, and scan the area with my eyes as I hike.

So I need to make a final decision on the hiking footwear to purchase. Test them out. Once I am satisfied I can then sell the treksports. So I guess I should get on top of this, and get going. The spring is coming, and it will be a good time to sell my treksports. Maybe I should order the invisible shoe kit sooner rather then later.......

Feeling apprehensive about bare footing in stores ?

Don't worry it is fairly normal for the virgin bare footer. Have you considered wanting to take BF activities into stores while you shop ? Well if your new to this activity you'll need to consider a few things before you take the next step.

1. Be ready to get those looks at your feet. Folks may start to pay a lot more attention to you. The ones that are not shy might ask you questions. The rest will try to stare at your feet while your not looking. I encourage folks to hold eye contact with folks as you pass, and a nice big smile. This will leave a nice impression to the onlookers. Oh they were shoeless, but seemed very happy and friendly. It's a good impression to leave.
2. Carry some sort of footwear with you out in your car, or backpack, etc. You may find that you will need them some places.
3. Know that each store will respond differently to this activity. You will be harassed by some stores I guarantee it. This is what you really need to think about. How will you react to store employees confronting you ? You have to decide what your confrontation reactions will be. So know your position on why BF are safe, and know it very well. Cause you will have to promote it. Or you will have to be passive in the situation. It's up to you.
4. Check out front of the store. Are any shoes required signs posted ? Sometimes stores enforce the unfriendly policy, but don't post the policy on a sign. If a sign exists what does the sign wording say ? You can learn a lot about the stores intellect just by their signage wording. Scouting this out prior to entering store can prepare you for possible situations.

If your going to be a advocate of bare feet publicly. You need to be ready to carry yourself in a positive, friendly manner. Folks are curious, but it can also freak some folks out. You gotta know all the common misconceptions cause you will be drilled on them by onlookers.

If your the advocate type in stores with bare feet. You may have to fine tune your shopping experience. What are your options ? This will dictate your decisions. If your approached, and you begin a conversation asking why you need to wear shoes. It is often a manager approaching you, and when you question them. It is not uncommon for them to become very defensive in your asking questions. You just have to stand your ground, and make them realize your not the average shopper. You may have to fold under their policy, but it's not over. Continue the conversation if you really want to advocate. Most all managers have email on the store web site if one exists. Send them BF literature. Make it none to them who you are, and that your not going away.
The other option is to not shop at the store any longer. do you have an alternative that is BF friendly ? If so certainly support that store, and tell the other store you won't be spending money with them anymore.
Maybe your options are limited, and you need to shop at the unfriendly store. Well their are ways around this as well. Like shopping when the manager is not working in begin, or end of day shift. Also some very minimal footwear can be purchased that should meet your needs. You'll only need to wear them for short time periods.

The bottom line is you can really personalize your experience based on your needs. You really need to educate yourself with the many sources found on the internet. Many of those sites listed on the right side of my blog. The best bare footer is a educated one. Then you need to gain real time experience in the stores. Depending on where you live your results will really vary. I have been very fortunate, but you may find less fortunate results.

I could blog all day about this stuff. You'll read much more about this from me in future posts. In closing I just want us to expose bare feet. The more we expose the more society will become more comfortable with it.

Being bare foot in stores is a wonderful feeling. If you have not yet be sure to give it a try. Just work at a pace you are comfortable with. Afterall this experience is about you first. Then expanding the experience to others to embrace. Whatever you do your comfort level is most important. Just show folks that it can be done, and be done safely.

Stay tuned for more tips, and my personal experiences in future posts. If you like what you read here. Be sure to tell your brethren about this blog. I'm not BF runner focused. My focus is to promote bare feet in our everyday activities. Let's unite and spread the positive sensations !

I find being barefoot allows me to live even more happy. Let's make a more positive/healthy society which begins with our feet. Get folks paying more attention to their feet. It's so simple a idea that gets overlooked by many
......

Don't let your feet live a sheltered life !

Pic is a few blocks from plaza in Arcata, CA, USA. Taken as the sun was rising over the distant fickle hill.

So what are the bottomless sandals used for ?

Well it was going to be used as trickery in some stores. It turns out I came up with other options so I may not need them so much now.

I have a few stores that require me to wear shoes. Mostly grocery stores, but at this point it is only one grocery store giving me a problem. That is 1 grocery store out of the 3 that I use. Why not just not just stop shopping at that one store ? Well it is a natural foods co-op, and they have products I can't get at the other stores.

At this co-op I had very open conversation with them from the very beginning once I started bare footing. In fact at first they said they were not enforcing a shoes required policy. Then they changed their tune once I came into the picture. So speaking openly to them about it came back to haunt me a little. This store puts the blame on their insurance company. In the stores mind bare feet are at higher risk of something happening. If they file a claim because something happens to a customers barefoot. Then the store feels that insurance will harass them for letting folks walk around barefoot. I've tried to explain to them that bare feet are at no greater risk then any other body part. I've asked them why flip flops are OK, but not bare feet. They don't really have a answer for that one, but I already know the answer. Society accepts flip flops much more then bare feet is the answer. Clearly the store is much more concerned about the bare sole of the foot rather then the bare top of the foot.

They even had that common unfriendly sign saying "due to health reasons shoes are required". This was a separate conversation I had with them. The sign was not worded exactly like that, but it was worded as if bare feet were unhealthy. So I took this topic up with them. It turns out based on that conversation we had they changed the wording on the sign. Now it says something like "We ask that customers please wear shoes in the store".

Don't worry I'll get back to the bottomless sandals thing. So during all these conversations I was trying to come up with creative ways to work around this policy. Frankly they were not offering me a valid reason to put shoes on so I did not like the policy. Plus when I walk in stores, etc my feet like to feel what it is walking on. I gave them many very valid reasons on my barefoot position, but they just would not budge. I just wish they could have given me some valid reasons for their shoe policy.

So at first I got some paper feet sandals , and I like those they are about as minimal as you can get. Then just out of curiosity I got some topless sandals. They were cool, but they take too much maintenance to keep the sticky stuff working properly.

After the topless sandal I said OK let's see how far I can push the limits with this store. If I have something clearly visible on the top of my foot. Then that will trick folks brains that if something is on top of my foot then surely something is on the bottom. How many people will look then question if something is on the bottom ? I don't think people will question it at all as it looks like a flip flop, or sandal is on my foot. So that is the reason for the bottomless sandal. It is trickery !

However that order I placed(linked in the previous post) took 30 days or so for me to receive. It was a customized order so the women hand made the products. So during the time of waiting I came up with another alternative. I knew who the manager, and assistant manager were in the store. They seemed to be the only two enforcing the shoes required policy. As it is not the other employees job to enforce. It would not surprise me if most other employees are not even aware of the policy. Anyway I figured what if I shop barefoot when the two people enforcing the policy are not in the store. So at this point I am successfully shopping in this store barefoot without any problems. I've done it numerous weeks now. I usually go in on my weekends during the evenings. The store is open til 9 pm, and few employees work the last 1.5 hours the store is open. So I just go in during the evening when few customers/employees are in the store. So this folks is my way around the policy.

I figure now that I have the bottomless sandals I'll probably start wearing them in the store. Just as some extra security for the trickery factor. Though I really feel like it is not needed. The other two grocery stores I use clearly have no issue with my bare feet. The managers have seen my feet numerous times, and don't seem the least bit concerned about it. Interesting, huh ? Different strokes for different folks. In future posts I'll discuss my bare foot shopping experiences in more depth.

The bottomless sandals surely bring out my hippie side, but we have lots of hippies in the co-op as well as Arcata. So I fit right in! I don't consider myself a hippie these days. I'm much more a of a athletic type. As you can see though I have my forward thinking bare foot advocate side, and I'm willing to test the limits in private stores. How dare others try to suppress my desire to live healthy which starts at my bare feet. I don't demand you take shoes off. Why you demand I put shoes on ? I'm a bare foot individual living in a shoe addicted society.....

Oh yeah my foot is feeling much better. That three day weekend of rest paid off. I'll probably rest my feet through the rest of week, and start to play again this weekend starting off slowly of course.

Swag for my feet

I got a hemp anklet, and a bottomless sandal. Each item was customized, and took 30 days or so for the women to produce them. They were purchased from a web site located here. I don't know what struck me on the anklet. Just thought I'd spruce things up for days I wear shorts. The bottomless sandals I had some special needs for which I will discuss very soon in a upcoming post. Bottomless sandals seemed to be marketed towards women, and these were the best I could come up with for a male. I actually like them. It's gonna bring out my hippie side a bit when I wear them. It may take me some time to get comfortable with them, but like I said I'll discuss this more soon about why I got them to begin with. I've been thinking about getting a toe ring, but figure I should get comfortable with these two items first......

Listing myself with a injury........

So I have been procrastinating on making a decision on if I would do the Trinidad to Clam beach run. Let's review a bit. Not long ago I was complaining of some foot soreness. I allowed myself some time to rest, but I was eager to get back at it to train for Clam beach run. As soon as my soreness felt better I went on a 4 mile beach run. It turns out this was a bad choice on my part. I should have allowed more time to rest. What I thought was just soreness turned into more because I did not rest it long enough.

Many that know me will be surprised as it is rare that I injure myself. I tend to do things in a balanced manor, and I'm pretty good at listening to my body. This one I simply did not read properly. Combine that with the pressure of getting ready for the organized run. My first organized run, and looking back I did not allow myself enough time to prepare. Or I should have not pushed myself to do so many miles in such a short time period. Wanting to participate in the event was probably just a bad idea as a new BF runner. Actually I thought the first month of training went well, but I started to push myself too hard the second month......

Ok so you want to know. What is your injury ? I'm listing myself with a first metatarsal hairline stress fracture. That's the bone behind my big toe on the right side. With that said the injury is fairly minor. I can extend, and hyper extend the toe. Though it is tender when I move it in that manner. I never even really had pain, and who knows if I'm accurate on my assessment. I just know I need more rest, and running today won't help heal it. Clearly whatever I had initially was irritated by my recent 4 mile beach run.

It was not until yesterday that I assessed myself with this status. Prior to yesterday I had done very little to care for it. All week I was walking BF, and using min shoes at work. Though I did make some small effort to keep less body weight off the great toe. Though the injury has not really effected simple walking other then this small change I made to my gait to help allow it to heal. Once Friday came around I stopped going barefoot, and used a sandal I had around with a fairly thick sole. I also have a pair of old school simple shoes which I will probably wear at work in the upcoming week. Doing these things will allow the foot to rest a bit more. The added sole will take some stress off the foot, and allow it to heal faster. The injury actually feels much better today, but I plan to give it numerous more days of rest. In fact I have taken a day off to extend my weekend a extra day. So now that I have identified this I'm giving myself three straight days of added rest, and more focused care. So yeah no Clam beach run for me today. Ironically my neighbor running shod injured himself as well so won't be doing the run either.

For me this is a minor set back. Am I disappointed in myself ? Of course I am. I did not read the soreness symptoms properly, and paid for it a bit more. Though still fairly minor. Not doing the organized run event today is the least of my concerns. Not reading properly my feet talking to me bothers me more. Though I have been very grateful for this BF running experience. I have learned things about myself, and I have even fine tuned my likes/dislikes for running. Or as a BF advocate in general. Also living "in the moment" is much more important to me. So I accept the terms I have been given, and the lessons will be noted. Considering how darn active I am I really have no room to complain about this.....

So what's ahead for me ? Well the priority coming up in a few months is the annual Kinetic sculpture race. Usually this is a very time consuming project, but this year we are using the same theme as last year. So I won't need to spend as much prep time this season. The race is last weekend of May.
I am also thinking about the Avenue of the giants run. This is in early May, and I may consider the 10K running under the redwoods. Now I know how much time I need to prepare. Though I also have to train on the kinetic vehicle as well. So I'm not sure if I will do the run, or not this year. I don't plan to do kinetic race in 2012 so I hope to do the ave instead. If anyone wants to run under the redwood tress you may want to consider the ave.
As I have already stated beach BF running will certainly be in my future. I have a strong desire to trail BF run as well. Though this is something I need to feel out still in Arcata's Redwood park. They have lots of fun single track trails that are dirt based, but interconnected with gravel roads. So I just need to take a closer look at the gravel roads to see how my soles like it, or if I can run along side, etc.
I'm also interested in BF backpacking this summer, and day hiking. Continue my unconventional weight training at the independent warehouse gym in town. So as you can see I have many things ahead to look forward to. Many of the things barefoot related, and a little mixture of things that are not. As I stated in yesterdays post it's always hard to balance everything. Some days I even mountain bike. So I just have to look ahead a little, and set some goals. Basically I really like variety. Advocating bare feet will be a big part of what I do in the months ahead, and I'll have many things to discuss in this blog about bare footing. Most exciting my daily activities will be BF outside of work. So while the minor injury is a bummer. I have lots of fun stuff to look forward to after the short recovery period !

Life goes on.......

My bare feet have acquired personal prefrences........

I've mentioned in the past that I don't consider myself a barefoot runner, but rather a BF advocate.

I have also found it is rather hard to open dialogue during a run. Running 4 mph or so makes it difficult to speak with people. I want to run, and not have to stop to talk to folks. As clearly I think some would certainly like to ask me questions. Instead since I whip by they may just say something quick, and I respond quickly as I run away past them.
On the other hand I have found simply walking BF to be much better for advocating BF. I love to walk barefoot in town, stores, etc. It is much easier to stop, and talk to folks this way. So for me this will be the best method to promote bare feet. Running will simply be a fun excersice to run BF......

With that said I don't really like running on the town streets that much. I am new to running so I have to acquire my personal preferences for my feet, and my overall likes/dislikes. I enjoy running BF on the streets. I enjoy the Hammond trail however that paved trail is just too short for the section I like to run. In town I don't really like running with the emissions of traffic. Let's be real Arcata, CA is a fairly small town. It is by no means a big city. I just don't like running in this type of environment. What I do like in fact I love is running BF on the beach. Running on the beach is just wonderful ! In fact I think it may become kind of addicting.
I love the environment of the sand, and ocean. To feel the different temperatures of sand. To feel the dry sand, and wet sand. Listening, and feeling the enrgy of the ocean waves come in. The wind blowing on your body. The birds playing among the sands, and just above the water. Many birds in fact small, and large. I feel at home running on the beach !

At the end of the day. I don't want to just run. Though I would like to include running more as a activity. Running on the beach is certainly a really good workout which is another reason I like it. In fact the BF running style does make it easier as you glide over the sand. I like to run in front of the dry sand where the sand is wet. Typically during low tide hours. Anyway I like other outdoor activities, and I like weight training using unconventional methods. It's always a struggle balancing all the different activities. I usually just do whatever my body/mind is in the mood for on a given day. I hope to make beach running a more regular activity......

Jan 29 is the afternoon of the Trinidad to Clam beach run I was planning to do. I have a announcement to make. This announcement will follow in the next 24 hours.

Well I woke up today wanting to run on the beach. My feet were feeling much better today. Lately we have been having beautiful weather here on the Humboldt coast. The sun has been shining, and it is supposed to keep up through the week.

I ran 4 BF miles on the beach today. The beach is by far my most favorite place to run. It is just so much fun ! While being a really good workout. You most certainly have to work harder with the unstable sand surface, but I love it. I can already feel some soreness in my lower leg muscles. It has been a few months since I ran on the beach.


Following up on my last post. My ego has given me permission to do the 5 3/4 distance in the Trinidad to Clam beach run next weekend. I really want to enjoy my BF running journey. I see no need to push myself for one event for possible too much too soon(TMTS) issues. After the event I will have plenty of time to train more for longer distances. So I'm going to embrace the 5 3/4 run next weekend. Enjoy running with other shod runners, and talk up my bare feet. In fact this distance run actually starts right in town as the longer run starts outside of town. So my chosen distance will probably be better place to discuss bare feet, etc with folks. Since the start line is right in town. A very small town. So I'm excited......